Prologue

It was warm and sunny March afternoon in Texas.  I had just gotten my teeth cleaned at the dentist.  As my dental hygienist walked with me to the door of the dentist office, she noticed my 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder in the parking lot.  "Wow, that's yours?  That looks fun!" she admired.  I was grateful for the compliment, but I knew the truth about this car.  I knew how many miles it had and how things were starting to break and re-break after having them fixed.  I smiled though and thanked her for the compliment.  She said I should take the top down since it was a nice day, and as I hadn't done so in a while due to the colder winter weather we were just coming out of, I agreed that would be a great idea!  I started to lower the top when suddenly the hydraulics failed, the top stopped mid-open, the car beeped an alarm, and finally, after nearly 8 years of ownership, the last straw had been laid.

After I'd snapped my timing belt once.  Ah, memories...

So began my search for a new car.  The Eclipse had actually been a departure for me into the world of more "sporty" vehicles.  My previous, most beloved cars had been SUVs: a Jeep Cheroke and a Nissan XTerra.  Although I had for so long enjoyed sitting low and zipping around town in a sleek little convertible, it was time to get chunky.  It was time to sit high.  It was time to go slow, but be able to go ANYwhere once I got there.  All-terrain fever had struck and I was a goner.

As excited as I was to get back onto the rugged trails and nature that I had missed for so long, I did not at all look forward to losing the top-down option.  My wife and I had been spoiled for nearly a decade with little vacations every time we got into the car and lowered the ol' rag top.  Inspiration struck!  I felt like I was 18 again as I sat in my hot, broken car and dreamed of owning a Jeep.  I recalled looking in dumbstruck awe all those years ago at a nice, clean, forest green Jeep Sahara with brown stitched interior.  A new Jeep was entirely out of my price range back then, but now things were different.  A new Jeep was now only mostly out of my price range...